4.5 inch sett isn't big enough, so I want your opinion

**Alan H** · 14th June 06, 10:15 PM

OK, I bought this stuff from the remnant collection at Fraser and Kirkbright, hoping to use it to practice pleating to sett before I started the X Marks tartan. It's pretty nice ply/wool 13 ounce. The selvedge is good. Well, when it came it turns out that it has a 4.5 inch sett. I bought 3 yards. Hmmm....you know, a 4.5 inch sett doesn't make for very deep pleats, does it?

GRRRRRR.

Here's what it looks like, after a bit of doctoring and patching together with MS Paint:

OK, if I pleat to sett or stripe I'm going to get pleats that are only about 1.75 inches deep, if I use a roughly one-inch reveal. Yuck. DOUBLE yuck. I don't want to pleat double setts (and get deeper pleats) because I don't want to buy more material. It's not like this is a special tartan to me, I bought it because it was cheap, to learn on. But I don't want to make an unwearable kilt out of it, you know? OK, so I stared at the material for a while and thought...what if I pleat one AND A HALF setts? Tht would be about 6.7 - 7 inches deep, then. Perfect...

I laid it out and it seemed to be OK. If you look closely at the sett pattern, and then look at the image down below, you'll see what I'm thinking of.

What do you all think? Thumbs up, thumbs down?

Kiltmakers, is there any downside to doing this?

**Alan H** · 14th June 06, 10:21 PM

I'm going to have to count setts, or actually "pleat-repeats" CAREFULLY to figure out how many I can make if I do this, but it should eat tartan at the same rate that a 6-7 inch sett eats tartan. That means I should have about 22-24 pleats around me backside....just fine..

Then again, maybe I have my Great Kilt outta this, you know? At least it didn't cost very much.

**Scottish Chi** · 15th June 06, 03:49 AM

I think you should make it with a 38/40 inch waist so if you don't like it you can send it to me!

I like the material and the way you have figured the pleating. I don't know how to make a kilt but the visual of the pleated pattern looks good to me. I would be happy to send you more material if you would like to make another for me for more practice.

Cheers! Bill

**cavscout** · 15th June 06, 05:45 AM

I've been watching that material also for a while. Without the red stripe it looks a bit boring. I wouldn't let it keep me from making a knock around kilt but as far as a kilt to step out in probably not.

Can you go with a couple less pleats to give deeper pleats and use whatever's left to give you deeper reverse pleats at the aprons?

**Schultz** · 15th June 06, 06:17 AM

Have you thought of trying your hand at a box-pleat, Alan?

**KiltedCodeWarrior** · 15th June 06, 07:17 AM

Looks good to me Alan. But Schultz does bring up a good possibility by making a box pleated. Yuo could make fewer, but deeper pleats, to sett or stripe, and not need any more cloth (I think).